Archive for February, 2012

Remember a few weeks back, when – being the generous types we are – we provided you with a handy link to a stream of the new single from NYC power-pop duo Sleigh Bells? Well, it seems that was only a harbinger of things to come. Everyone’s favorite electro-scuzz outfit have now elected to stream their new album (‘Reign Of Terror’, due for release February 21st) in full online. Want to check it out? Just head over to the New York Times, where you can enjoy all ten tracks for the premium price of … erm … nothing at all.

Mexico City hip-hop legend Bocafloja has long been something of a mainstay around the BAMM office – not only we are all huge fans of his socially-conscious and free-flowing beats, but we’ve also enjoyed the privilege of both an interview and performance from the man himself (not to mention his ultra talented backing crew, of course).

Hopefully you’ll agree that Bocafloja is an artist of formidable caliber, which is why you should be very excited to learn that his brand new album “Patologias del Invisible Incomodo” is set for release on February 18th (that’s a mere five days from now, should you feel like engaging in a bit of calendar countdown action).sumo suits for sale

In order to take us behind the philosophies (musical, social, political and otherwise) which underpin his upcoming avant-garde Spanish language rap odyssey, Bocafloja has also produced a fascinating documentary – which you can see simply by playing the video above. Smart, literate, vocal and with a killer command of the mic: if you’re not a fan of Bocafloja by now, you really need to get on that …

Here’s some awesome news: BAMM.tv is excited to announce a great partnership with Flingo. If you have a smart TV, there’s a good chance Flingo—the leading app publisher for smart TVs—is either on it or will be on it very soon. This partnership means the same can be said for BAMM.tv. We’re talking 7.8 million screens in 118 countries featuring the killer emerging artists we’ve had the pleasure to work with. How cool is that?

Don’t get it wrong: everybody here at BAMM watches videos on the laptop at work, on our tablets, or on our phones, but performance videos, band docs, and episodic content — projects we’ve had a blast shooting, editing, and producing — are a real treat while sitting on a couch with your feet up. Most importantly, this partnership means more people — millions more — will be able to discover the emerging artists we love.

Our partnership with Flingo is the latest in a slew of platforms on which BAMM.tv content is currently available, including Samsung phones and tablets (Bada and Android), Chunghwa Telecom, Select TV, and more (click here for complete partner list), meaning all the artists on BAMM.tv are reaching over 10 million smartphone and feature phone users in Asia, Europe, and Latin America (150 countries in total). And in case you didn’t already know, we’re working hard on an awesome BAMM.tv iPad app – due out in the next few months. Trust us: this is something really special, and you’re going to be amazed when you see it.

Thank you for all your continued support. It’s always great to give you—our earliest of adopters—some good news. Check back soon for the iPad app, and if you’re new to BAMM.tv, make sure to check out our “about” page.

Regardless of how you perceive the Grammy Awards – either as an exciting musical showcase or a bloated embodiment of the old-school music business – you can’t deny that it’s a pivotal event on the industry calendar. It also seems that some of the more … ahem … ‘traditional’ head honchos within the biz have finally latched onto the notion that this whole ‘digital thing’ might not be going away any time soon.

Step forward, then, Grammy Live – a new app to accompany the 54th Grammy Awards. There’ll be three days of live events and interactive goodies leading up to the night itself (this Sunday, Feb 10th). So if you’re hoping to a) spot some of your favorite superstar artists, or b) complain how lame certain superstar artists are, this iOS gateway will provide you with the opportunities you need …

It takes a lot to get a music video noticed these days. One route can be to up the gimmick quotient and provide a surprising new twist with every production – an approach arguably perfected by OK Go, whose notoriety for creating cool pop promos seems to outstrip their musical track record with ease.

Another more recent method is to imbue your music videos with an innovative sense of interactivity. Montreal’s favorite sons (and daughter) Arcade Fire have been making great steps in this regard, with the personalised Google-Earth theatrics of ‘We Used To Wait’ proving a particular highlight.

Now funk-rock veterans The Red Hot Chili Peppers are getting in on the act. January saw the release of their new single ‘Look Around’ – but its only now that they’ve unleashed the full-on interactive version of the video. If you fancy delving into a world of multi-cam meddling, you can take a look below …

In our series of predictions for 2012, we quite feasibly announced that the ever-growing phenomenon of ubiquitous band reunions wasn’t going anywhere. And – while cultural mainstays like The Stone Roses and Black Sabbath are getting in on the action – it seems that a good number of cult icons are putting their differences aside too. At The Drive In have famously reunited to play at Coachella this year … and that same festival will also see firm indie favorites Mazzy Star treading the boards.

Even if you’re too young to remember Mazzy Star in their first incarnation, you’ll almost certainly know the voice of Hope Sandoval. The Mazzy frontwoman has been busy with her own band (Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions), but has also carved out a prolific niche as a great guest vocalist for acts such as Death In Vegas, The Chemical Brothers and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Her sultry modernist country-twang is instantly recognisable, even if her name (shamefully) isn’t as well-known as it should be.

Mazzy Star was where it all began, though: an alt-rock bunch of shoegazers from Santa Monica whose 1990 debut ‘She Hangs Brightly’ is easily one of the decade’s best guitar albums. It wasn’t until their 1993 follow-up ‘So Tonight That I Might See’ that they enjoyed (relative) commercial success with their crossover tune ‘Fade Into You’, however.

After years of being unfairly overlooked, 2011 saw Mazzy Star enjoy a whole new reappraisal. The reason? A video game. Gears Of War 3 featured the sublime ‘Into Dust’ on its launch trailer, and suddenly a whole new generation were Mazzying themselves into a tizzy.

Reunion rumblings had been floating around since 2010, but the 2011 popularity surge also saw the release of ‘Common Burn’, their first new material in 15 years:

Mazzy Star are also working on a new album which is due for release later this year. Let’s hope their uniquely flavorful, ambient dream-pop stylings start to gain more of the recognition they deserve – both in terms of their future work and the wider influence their back catalog has cast over rock music in general.

Well, it’s been a great ride, but we’ve reached the last of our regular Friday instalments of BAMM’s Global Scene: Amsterdam. We hope you’ve enjoyed this in-depth look at this amazing city and all the fantastic musical elements it has to offer. To round things off, we’re looking to the future: who are the faces to watch in the world of Dutch music?

As for Global Scene itself? Well – it will return in the not-too-distant future! To date we’ve covered London and Amsterdam, and can guarantee that we’ll be heading somewhere similarly exciting next. Where would you guys like to see us go?

Yesterday we treated you to our latest podcast, which continued our theme of exploring the Musical Yearbook – those moments in life in which music undergoes an effortless synergism with present events and creates lasting memories (good or bad, but nevertheless always unforgettable).

If you liked what you heard, here’s something that you should find very, very interesting indeed. BAMMers Phil, Sonia, Zach and Brock have kickstarted a new labor-of-love project which hopes to create a communal archive of all these amazing musical moments – and they need you to take part. Here’s a summary:

Based on the universal truth that music is a highly effective entry point into our pasts, Musical Yearbook is a growing collection of audio recorded autobiographical essays/short stories in which people of all ages, professions, and backgrounds share written snapshots of their lives through the lens of the music that chose them. It is the first experiment in a series for a larger, tentatively coined Social Music Project.

In the end, Musical Yearbook has a simple goal—to tell and learn our stories through the common thread of music. We are all far more interesting than what can be summed up in an “About Me” section, and we are far more interested in others than what is extractable from a friend’s or stranger’s “About Me” section. Similarly, there are more ways to share music than Spotify telling our “friends” what we’re listening to at the moment.

Like music, the digitization of community has created an efficient, but oftentimes shallow interaction. Our emotional investment in each other has been reduced. Musical Yearbook looks to deepen that interaction and increase our respective emotional investments.

If you want to help share your musical memories with the world, head on over to the Musical Yearbook site and find out how you can take part for yourself.

It’s been a while, but the BOB Podcast is back – this time with something very special indeed. San Francisco writer Lewis Buzbee (The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop) stopped by BAMM.tv to read all four of his essays/short stories for Musical Yearbook. He then chats with BAMM’s very own Phil Lang about the Musical Yearbook project, and the excitement of a parent and child turning each other on to music.

Lewis Buzbee is the author of three novels for younger readers, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, Steinbeck’s Ghost, and Bridge of Time, coming in May 2012. His most recent book for adults is The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. He teaches in the MFA Program in Writing at the University of San Francisco. For more info on Buzbee, take a look here.

Oh – and remember to check the BAMM blog tomorrow for details on how YOU can take part in the Musical Yearbook project! Excited? You should be …